


Let's Go!

by ghostscribe



Category: Pokemon GO
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Other, will add as more chapters go up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-05 21:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15179549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostscribe/pseuds/ghostscribe
Summary: A collection of assorted Pokémon Go content! We follow our team leaders as they look for legendary birds, battle for Gym territories, eat things they're not supposed to eat and fall in love and inappropriate times. That's just how a regular day goes for Blanche, Candela, and Spark.





	1. catching up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spark has always been a bit behind Blanche and Candela when it comes to their many contests they make up. Today, he thinks he's finally won!

He’s sprinting home even faster than usual, which is saying a lot.

Spark is wildly, wildly excited. Since he became a Team Leader, he hasn’t had any catches of such a ridiculously strong Pokémon. Candela and Blanche have always been a bit ahead of him, and while they aren’t particularly arrogant about it (okay, Candela is sometimes), he always feels a little bad about being behind them at every turn. He’s good at hatching eggs, and he raised all the Pokémon on his team from birth, but it’s not hard to be the best at something when you’re the only one doing it. He refuses to let himself get down about it for too long, but sometimes he wonders if he can ever catch up with them. 

Today might just be that day.

Blanche is a genius, frankly. They don’t often battle or hatch eggs, but when it comes to judging a Pokémon’s stats, their judgement is spot on. They’re as organized and diligent as can be and, as a result, are almost mechanically productive and successful. Blanche is calm, calculating, incredibly level-headed and surprisingly empathetic when they need to be. They give their fellow members of Team Mystic a hell of a lot of chores (he’s seen Blanche at two in the morning writing out lists of tasks for everyone), but Mystic kids are almost as diligent as Blanche; almost, because no one is more of a workaholic than Blanche is. They have the largest following and the most gyms under their belt, which comes as absolutely no surprise. 

Candela is largely everything Blanche isn’t; always aiming well above the moon, passionate, an intense battler and an even more intense mom to all her Valor kids. She can be a bit emotionally dense sometimes, but she’s still just as well-meaning as Blanche, and her pep talks are to die for. She may not have the most gyms, but when a group of Team Valor kids fights, they fight _hard_. They have the highest rate of raid wins, and they’re known for stacking the gyms they get with 3000+ CP Pokémon when they get the chance. Candela has always had this fiery personality (pun intended), and that definitely rubs off on her kids. There’s rarely a moment where she’s not smiling and running off to her next challenge; her moments of fatigue are one in several blue moons. 

Then there’s Spark. 

Spark is the leader of Team Instinct, of course, and the leader of the smallest, least competitive team. His kids tend to focus more on the casual moments of being a trainer; collecting candies, helping their friends evolve, hatching eggs left and right and, of course, messing light-heartedly with the other teams. The kids have devised a tactic of letting Valor and Mystic groups fight for a gym before occupying it during the scuffle; a bit of a cheap tactic, but Spark probably taught them that himself. He’s done that to his fellow team leaders before. They were annoyed at first, then confused as to why he put a 3039CP Magikarp in the gym, then even more perplexed as to how and why he even had a Magikarp at that power in the first place. 

_He doesn’t wanna evolve yet,_ was Spark’s explanation _. He’ll get there when he’s ready!_

Blanche and Candela get so caught up in their own rivalry sometimes that they forget what he thinks is the most important part of being a Pokémon trainer; the journey, the excitement, the downtime spent by a bonfire on the beach after chasing a Gyarados for four hours. There’s something about just existing in the moment, paying no mind to how many gyms you have, how strong your best Pokémon is in comparison to your rivals, how fast you can take down a gym or a raid boss. Yes, Spark lives in the moment, cherishing the soft texture of an egg he found and the sound of Pidgey wings flapping overhead, the breeze that hits him when he rolls down a hill on his bike, the smell of sea salt and the splashing of Shellder on the shore. 

This is the heart of Spark’s experiences as a Pokémon trainer and a Team Leader; not a thought, nor ambition, but the experience itself. Still, he’s better known for his memes and excitable personality. 

_You have pretty fitting types, don’t you?_ Willow made that astute observation when he selected the trio to be the Team Leaders. He hadn’t intended for cool Blanche to lead Mystic, hotheaded Candela to lead Valor, nor electrifying Spark to lead Instinct. It just happened to work out that way.

“Spark? Are you okay?” A Team Instinct member calls from across the road. He skids to a stop. 

“I caught a Fearow and I’m gonna show Blanche and Candela!” he proudly announces. “I’ll show you kids when you get back, too, okay?”

The trainer across the street grins. “Awesome! I’ll see you then - don’t run into traffic this time, though, okay?!”

“That was only four times!” He darts off again, and he does stop at the red light this time. 

Over everything else, Spark’s energy is his trademark that anyone can see from a mile away, and that trademark has caused him the most physical damage. He’s nearly run off a cliff while chasing a Sneasel, dove twenty feet off a dock to catch a Marill, even held a Pichu in his arms for fifteen minutes despite it constantly shocking him in a panic (it lost its mother though! He had to help!). He can at least say he’s not unaccustomed to shocks, though, since his Jolteon often zapped him soon after she evolved from an Eevee. Physical harm never bugged him that much. _Perpetual adrenaline high,_ is what Blanche calls it. 

This energy is different, though, because Blanche and Candela already caught Fearow. He’s finally catching up to them. That’s why he’s running so fast that he can’t feel his legs. 

This was the most ridiculously strong and difficult catch he’s ever had, even beating out the Lapras that got away from him seven times (yes, the same Lapras. He instinctively knows it was he same one each time). This Fearow was impossibly fast, though, and knocked out three of his Pokémon without any hesitation nor even any difficulty. It had to have been a Fearow that somehow escaped from a raid battle, but even those ones aren’t particularly strong, and certainly not as strong as this one. He only kept his Jolteon (Lectra, he calls her) at the ready to help track it. Trying to attack obviously wasn’t doing any good; it seemed to be shaking off all her electric attacks, somehow, which is amazingly impressive for a flying type. He had to use three of his golden razz berries to finally gain its trust, and when it decided he wasn’t half bad, he was able to get it into a pokéball with ease. The ability to get a Pokémon this strong to trust him and willingly come home is a feat to really take pride in. 

That’s not all, either. This is a _shiny_ Fearow he has. 

Spark skids to a stop when he sees an Instinct gym. Every Pokémon in there gets a berry before he continues his run. At this rate, one of his eggs might hatch before he gets home. Maybe it’ll be another Zubat! He’s been meaning to evolve his Golbat, so the candies would be helpful, and who doesn’t love a precious baby Zubat?

Looks don’t matter a whole lot to Spark. One of his toughest Pokémon teams he battles with consists of a Granbull, a Jynx, and a Cloyster, which... aren’t particularly attractive by conventional means. They’re absolutely precious as far as Spark is concerned, though, in all their little mannerisms, the games of tag they play and the funny dances they do when they want some of his berries. Of course, he has his Ninetales, Lapras, Lectra, but they're also adorable for who they are. _Sap_ , is what Candela usually says. She’s not wrong; he cries over every egg he hatches. He honestly is just that emotional, though. Who wouldn’t shed a tear when they hatch a little baby Rattata? They’re just too cute! 

This Fearow looks cool as heck, though, and he’s more than happy with that fact. He knows a gorgeous Pokémon when he sees it, and this one is _really_ beautiful, just absolutely _stunning_. It’s - 

He doesn’t know what his foot hit, but he skids across the sidewalk. This is why he wears gloves, or else his hands would always be scraped up. 

This is the fourth time Spark has tripped, but he’s just about back at the lab (after ushering an unwilling Ekans out of the road). Blanche and Candela are gonna be so surprised! His first wild Fearow, and it’s a shiny, too! They’re not even gonna what to say when they see it! They’ve all been racing to try and get a shiny Pokémon ever since they all managed to catch their own red Gyarados on the same day. It looks like Spark is gonna win this round for once! He’s never too competitive, but he’d be lying through his teeth if he said victory didn’t taste as sweet as honey. 

“Blaaanche! Candelaaaaaa!”

He attempts to burst miraculously through the door, but he ends up just kicking a closed door and hurting his foot. He calmly opens the door and _then_ runs in. 

“Blanche! Candela! I gotta show you something really - “

They’re both... kind of red-faced and on top of each other. Blanche shoves Candela off unceremoniously. This happens sometimes and Spark will continue to play dumb about it until the day he dies. 

“What is it you wanted to show us?” Blanche asks calmly. Candela sits up, rubbing her head. 

“If it’s another Rattata, I’m gonna scream.” Spark pouts at Candela. 

“Hey, all my Rattata are special and wonderful little mouse babies, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she rolls her eyes. “You know Willow has more than enough of those, right?”

“To be fair, he does conduct plenty of catch and release programs with them, thanks to Spark,” Blanche offers. “Though I get the sense that’s not what you’re so enthusiastic about today.”

“No, it’s something even better!” Spark pulls out the ultra ball; it was actually his last one, buried at the bottom of his bag after trying to catch it for almost an hour. “I got a Fearow! A wild one!”

“Finally caught one, huh?” Candela hops up. “I’m proud of you, kiddo.”

“Kiddo? I’m not that much younger than you! I’m two years, five months and six days younger, thank you very much!”

“That practically makes me your mom,” she laughs. “No, really, give us a look! I wanna see what you got there!”

“Well, I dunno if you’re ready for a bird this beautiful,” he taunts. “This guy is special!”

“What could possibly have caught your interest? Does it have one particularly iridescent feather?” Blanche always teases him with a deadpan stare. Professor Willow used to think he was actually being bullied, but that’s just how they are. 

“Look, that Murkrow was practically a rainbow Murkrow, okay? You all saw it!”

“Spark, dude, you’re killin’ me here, just show us your new find!” Candela has found her way back to one of the office chairs. 

“Alright, but don’t get too attached to that seat, ‘cause this guy’s gonna get you on your feet!” Hey, that rhymed. He should be a poet, or something. 

There’s a red burst of light from the ultra ball, a loud _caw,_ then an awe-filled silence. 

The bird is beautiful, really, with feathers ruffled up into these dramatic, sharp peaks, the almost golden feathers accented with deep blacks on its undercoat. It’s beak is particularly pointed, it’s tail more substantially feathered than a regular Fearow, it’s head covered more marvelously in the shimmering plumage. He’s seen pictures of shiny Fearow, appearing almost to be a lime green, but that must be a trick of the camera or something. This little friend (well, not quite little) is absolutely stunning compared to the textbooks. 

Blanche and Candela remain absolutely speechless. 

“So? Y’all didn’t think I’d find a shiny Fearow before you, did ya?”

“Spark...?” Candela finds her voice first, but she can’t find any words. 

The bird trills loudly, and Spark rubs its beak. “Yep, Team Instinct Leader Spark is finally catching up with the big kids, huh? N-Not to say that I’m little or anything,” he adds quickly. He’s totally not trying to look taller with his boots or anything, not at all. 

“Spark, listen...” Blanche takes half a step back from the bird. 

“Isn’t he pretty? I didn’t know shiny Fearow are more golden than that lime-ish green color.” He looks at the bird in question. “You taught me something new today, didn’t - “

He feels a surge of powerful electricity shoot through his hand when he touches its feathers. 

That's not a Fearow, then.

But...

No way. 

There’s absolutely no way. 

“You... you’re joking, right?” Candela almost pleads. “You don’t seriously think this is a Fearow?”

The bird’s eyes are piercing. Spark is kind of at a loss. 

“I mean... I thought it was, but...”

“Spark, you’re a piece of work, you know that?” Candela almost approaches, but a sharp look from the bird deters her. 

“Where did you find it?” Blanche is attempting to take notes through their shock. 

“Out in the park. I chased it to the beach, pretty much,” he answers quietly. “Is it really... This can’t actually...”

He thought - they all thought this was a creature of myth. Apparently, though, he just encountered, battled, chased, and captured a legend. 

Spark caught Zapdos. 

Zapdos is standing right next to Spark. 

It dawns slowly on him that he technically, legally owns this Pokémon, now. He’s not sure what to do with this information. 

Blanche is trying to ask him more, but he’s in too much of a daze to really hear them. Zapdos - this is literally Zapdos, wow - looks at him, an intense look, cautious yet curious. He runs his hand over the feathers beside its eyes, just... marveling at it. The leaders have only seen pictures of these legends in textbooks and old folklore scripts. Spark loves electric types of all walks of life, but there was something else about Zapdos that called to him. Something else seemed to lure him in, something about those eyes, the raw energy in even ancient drawings of it. The trio has had an ongoing research project into the existence of these legendary birds, since they haven’t been seen in centuries. The trio has been searching for almost a year, now. He’s surprised they learned anything about such elusive creatures in this year, let alone...

_“Dosss...”_ the bird coos at him, nudging his cheek delicately with the smooth side of its beak. He smiles wildly at it, almost shaking with excitement. 

“Hey, buddy...” He’s so thrilled that his voice is shaking. This is actually Zapdos. This is literally, genuinely the legendary Zapdos. 

There’s still sparks flying off its feathers, but he doesn’t care enough to step back or stop petting it. It nudges his leg with its beak, poking him a bit harshly, but this is Zapdos here, and who is he to tell a legend what to do? 

“Spark!” Blanche’s voice finally gets through his dreamy state. 

“What’s up?”

“Just... how? How did you find it?” What else can they ask?

“How did you even catch it?!” Candela adds, overwhelmed with shock. 

He simply grins. “I just think it likes me.”

His friends both have that look of _you have to be kidding me_ that they get when he says stuff like that, albeit significantly more astounded, given the gravity of the situation. 

“What’s all the commotion in - oh my...” Professor Willow has certainly walked in on an interesting moment, hasn’t he? “Did one of you...?”

“I caught a shiny Fearow - or so I thought,” Spark smiles at the professor. “I think I’m gonna call him Zappy - how do you like that?”

Zapdos, true to its name, zaps him, but it gives him a happy trill. 

“Zappy it is! My little Zappy-wappy!”

He doesn’t mind the onslaught of electricity or shouts of _Spark don’t do that, you’re gonna get hurt!_ He still hugs the legendary bird and runs his hand over the top of its head. He’s thrilled to have made a breakthrough in research, to have caught such a strong Pokémon, to have finally won one of the many, many competitions between him and his friends...

More than anything, though, he’s happy to have a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is also known as "a running joke that i got too emotionally invested in, featuring my sunshine child and his two moms"


	2. entirely too many turtles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Blanche has a rude wake-up call and Spark is a good wingman.

This has been a rather unpleasant awakening today. 

Blanche was up for the better part of the night researching the semantics of evolution items, trying to sort out what about each item makes a Pokémon able to reach a higher evolution - or a different one than normal, as the case may be. The metal coat seems to have a slightly radioactive frequency that, when given to a Scyther or Steelix, excites the cells to a point where they can start to produce enough proteins to spark their evolution. As to exactly what protein this is, Blanche isn't entirely sure. Their eyes were getting sore by the time they made this breakthrough, and while they may certainly be "a workaholic" (in Professor Willow's words; they'd prefer "diligent"), they know when to stop and get some well deserved rest. There's no sense working with a fried brain and tired eyes. 

At least their eyes aren't dry anymore. In fact, they're absolutely soaked. 

Blanche sits up groggily, not exactly appreciating a wake up call of a Water Gun. They're going to have to lay out the sheets to dry off, now. Vaporeon isn't one to get so excitable, though, so they don't understand why he would be so active, especially this early in the morning. It's nearly an hour before their usual alarm goes off. 

"Vaporeon, why are you - "

Blanche stops short. Vaporeon doesn't know how to break out of his pokéball, actually. What in the...

_ "Squirtle!" _

Blanche looks down off the edge of the bed to see that there is, in fact, an unknown Squirtle in the room. Excellent. Did Spark decide to let one of his recent catches run wild through the apartment again? Maybe Candela is trying to give them grief? 

"How did you end up in here?" They muse more to themselves than the turtle. The Squirtle looks triumphantly at them. 

_ "Squirtle squir!" _

With an annoyed huff, Blanche grabs one of the pokéballs off the night stand and catches it with no resistance. That means it's wild, and somehow it got in their bedroom and decided to wake them up. There's no point in going back to bed now. At least their shower is halfway done. 

Blanche makes their way into the kitchen after their properly dressed and dry, only to find another five Squirtles in the apartment. If this is yet another case of Spark bringing home a squad of feral Pokémon, he's going to have a very stern talking to. 

"Spark! Candela!" No answer. "Wake up, both of you!" The turtles are trying to get into the fridge. "Hey!"

Both of them come running out, still in pajamas, because they've learned that if Blanche is shouting, it's always over something important. 

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Candela rushes over to Blanche and stops in her tracks when she sees the commotion. 

"I swear this wasn't me this time," Spark insists. "But they _are_ adorable!"

"Regardless of their physical appearance, I would appreciate if the two of you would help get rid of them."

"But Blanche, they're so precious!" Spark picks one up in his arms and holds it out to them. "Look at his little face!"

"Get that thing out of my face before it sprays me."

"Aw, relax, it's not gonna - " The Squirtle actually turns to spray Spark with water. "...Well, it didn't get you, at least."

"Spark, are you gonna catch that one, or should I grab it?" Candela made short work of those other ones. 

"Eh, I'll keep this little guy, what d'ya say, buddy?" Again, he's splashed with water. "I think he likes me!"

Blanche already feels a migraine coming on. "Just don't let it get into any more trouble. We have work to do today."

"Well, I'm gonna get ready, in that case," Candela says, already heading toward the bathroom. "No sense sleeping in now."

"Yeah, maybe that'd be good," Spark agreed, sitting his new friend on his shoulder. "That's a wake-up call and a half if I've ever seen one!"

"Oh, you've seen plenty." Blanche is quite familiar with having to creatively get Spark out of bed. The most recent incident involved Candela, Blanche, a Loudred, and several pots and pans. It still took about three minutes for him to actually wake up. 

There's a sudden tap on the windowsill. It's another Squirtle. 

"What in the...?" As if on cue, a call comes through from one of their assistants. "Hello, this is Team Mystic Leader Blanche speaking."

"W-We have a problem! Like, a really big problem!" Delta is their primary assistant, and kind of a frantic girl under any amount of stress. She's always particularly tactful nonetheless. It's almost amusing to watch someone fix everything while in a panic. 

"Speak slowly, and calmly tell me what the problem is."

"There's way too many Squirtles! Like, everywhere! They're literally all over the place!"

"Yes, I... noticed." There's another Squirtle at the window, now. "I'll ask Professor Willow to make an announcement."

"O-Okay, but what do we do for now?"

They think for a moment. "I suppose our best bet would be to catch them. If you can retrieve enough candies from them, you could conceivably evolve at least one into a Blastoise by the end of the day. At least there's some good to be had from this."

"Blanche!" Why does Candela always have to shout so suddenly? It never fails to startle them. 

"If you'll excuse me for one moment," then they cover the receiver. "Why are you screaming?"

Candela runs out holding another Squirtle who, for some reason, is a little paler than the previous ones found. "Blanche, look!"

Oh. 

That's a shiny Pokémon. 

"...I have to go. Call me if there's any trouble." At that, they hang up and begin examining the water type. Pale skin, a green shell, even its eyes seem a little more vibrant. 

"She kinda broke one of my shelves, but it was totally worth it!" Candela is beaming with that bright, fiery smile. "I bet there's gotta be more out there! Gamma just told me they're swamped out there with these guys!"

"Y'all hard about the swarm, too?" Spark pops his head out and _wait how did he do his hair that fast?_ "Sigma was saying somethin' about that. You think the Professor knows anything?" 

Right, Blanche did intend to call him. They put the phone on speaker for everyone's convenience. 

"Good morning, Blanche," Willow greets warmly. "What might you be up to this early in - "

"Why is there an infestation of Squirtle?"

He hesitates. "I... may or may not have planned an event for everyone. I was going to have it start closer to the afternoon, but..."

Blanche puts their head in their hand. "You're telling me you somehow lost control over a hoard of Squirtles? How many are there?"

"Eh, just a handful." Pause. "Maybe closer to a few thousand."

"Jesus, Willow..."

"Well, hey, more turtles for us!" Spark grins, optimistic as ever. "And I wanna find a shiny one, too! I love those little guys!"

"We'll head out now and start getting everything under control, so don't worry about it!" Candela adds, "Well, do worry a little. I bet you're gonna get a lot of them sent back to you for more candies."

"As per usual," he chuckles. "Best of luck, you three!"

Blanche is at least going to eat something before running around in the summer heat hunting down turtles.

 

* * *

 

They're almost lucky that they keep getting blasted by Water Gun. 

Blanche has instructed their team to do their best to evolve as many Squirtle as possible, to further research into the evolutionary line. Candela's goal is a more simple "get the strongest Blastoise you can." There's something special about the evolved Blastoise everyone has noticed, some kind of powerful move they seem to learn upon evolving, and Blanche can already tell they and Candela are going to be neck and neck trying to make the first research breakthrough about that. Spark insisted that his team keep their eggs incubating and travel as much as possible, something about eggs hatching faster with a lot of energy from swarms of Pokémon or something. Unrelated, but certainly interesting. 

Blanche feels another blast of water hit their back. The catch the offending Squirtle in seconds. 

"You guys are killing me, here," Blanche complains to no one in particular. At least the heat is drying them quickly enough. Besides, at this rate, they can get maybe three Blastoise before the swarm is over. 

"Blanche! W-What do you think of this one?" Delta is holding a particular large Squirtle - trying to, anyway. "I-I was gonna send an appraisal request, but then I saw you here, a-and I thought this would be faster."

Blanche takes out a digital screen with a slew of scanners and buttons on it. They scan the chest, eyes, head, tail... 

"Outstanding, really," they answer. "I would hold onto this one for your own excursions, if I were you."

Delta nods. "Got it!"

"Yes, fuck it up, Blaze! Now we - Spark!" Candela's victory cry from across the street has quickly turned sour. Spark is laughing madly. He took a gym she just tried to beat, didn't he? "You little shit! I'll fight you! Get over here!"

"Sorry, no can do!" Spark is already sprinting off. "Have fun with floppy boy!"

"Damnit, Spark!"

_Floppy boy,_ Spark's 3039CP Magikarp. He refuses to explain how or where he got it. He's only said he won't evolve it because it's "not ready," or something ridiculous like that. 

Another damn Water Gun. At least it's staving off Blanche's headache. 

"Keep rounding them up," they instruct Delta. "They're getting to be quite the nuisance."

"Right!" 

Blanche jogs a few laps around the block, picking up as many items from as many pokéstops as they can. They currently have a stockpile of 39 pokéballs, 41 great ones, and 18 ultras. That should be as many as they need to catch enough Squirtle, so they evolve three Squirtle of interest. There's one with a particularly hearty move set (Bubble and Water Pulse), one unusually small one, and one with amazing IVs. They're still holding out on a shiny Squirtle, but most of the ones they've caught haven't been particularly strong. While strength doesn't matter as much to Blanche as the biology and evolutionary process, they do prefer to evolve stronger Pokémon. It gives them an edge on battling Candela, who relies on both CP and brute force. They tend to be a bit better about strategy, and of course, Blanche is always secretly eager to impress the Valor Leader. 

Not like it really matters what she thinks. Blanche just wants to be respected, that's all. 

Then there's Spark. As to how he holds down a gym, Blanche will never know, but he can absolutely hold his own when he puts his mind to it. 

"Blaaaaaanche!" Speak of the devil. 

"Spark, are you harassing Candela?"

"No, no, lookit! Look at my new baby boy!"

They look over to see Spark is holding a Squirtle with sunglasses. 

"You... gave it glasses?"

"No! I did some field research and Willow sent this little gal over to me to catch! Isn't she perfect?!" He's absolutely enthralled. 

"That's very nice, Spark." He seems satisfied with that answer, and he runs off yelling to Sigma about... _Yellvis_. He has absolutely no class when it comes to naming things. 

_ "Squir!"  _

There's another shiny Squirtle, 147CP. Not very impressive, but they still catch it for research purposes. It is a shiny Pokémon, after all. They'll hardly ever get the chance to find more of these in the wild for quite a while, if the chance ever comes again.

"How are you holding up, Blanche?" It's Candela, carrying handfuls of pinap berries. 

"Well enough." They catch another Squirtle just before it tries to splash them. "Yourself?"

"I'm getting so many candies from this whole thing!" she cheers. "I already evolved one of my guys to a 2207CP Blastoise! He's a bit lower than some of my other guys, but I know he's gonna get there! He's got good stats and Hydro Canon, after all. How ‘bout you? Wanna have a Blastoise battle?"

That reminds Blanche; they haven't evolved any of theirs yet. "I'm waiting it out for the time being. I need to focus on the moment of evolution for my research."

Candela rolls her eyes. "You and your never ending research. Are you gonna crunch the numbers on every one you catch, or what?"

"That's one of the fundamentals of research, yes. You may want to step aside."

Candela looks annoyed. "Listen, you have all your math and science shit, but that doesn't mean I have to ‘step aside.' I'm every bit as - "

Candela gets blasted with a particularly strong burst of water from behind. Blanche smirks a bit. 

"I warned you."

"So you did." She sighs. "Figured you were being sassy."

"When have I ever sassed you, Candela?"

"Oh, wipe that grin off your face." Another Water Gun hits her. Candela turns to chase down the offending Squirtle. "Get back here, you little - !"

Blanche grins and runs off on their own excursion. It seems like the number of Squirtle is starting to dwindle. It's been a pretty long day and the sun is getting to their head, so an end to this whole fiasco is absolutely welcomed. 

There's another shiny. 531CP. Perfect. 

Blanche quietly approaches the Squirtle, holding a fresh razz berry in their hand. The turtle glances at the fruit and tentatively takes a few bites. He looks reasonably pleased. 

"Alright, now we just need to get you in the ball..." Maybe a great ball should do the trick?

Nope. It breaks out and immediately blasts them with yet another burst of water. It sprints away in the moment Blanche is trying to get their hair out of their face. 

"Oh, no you don't!" They chase it about halfway down the block before it runs across the street and up to Spark's leg. 

"Hey, buddy!" He kneels down and pets it. "What're you up to?"

_"Squirtle! Squir squir!"_ It's nuzzling against his bag, now. 

"Aww, you hungry for a berry, huh?" He flashes Blanche a thumbs up while it munches another razz berry. They'll try an ultra ball this time around. 

One. 

Two. 

Three...?

_ Click! _

"Good," they breath a sigh of relief and jog across the road. Spark picks up the ball and passes it off to them with an amused grin. 

"I saw you kinda sprinting after that guy," he laughs. "I've never seen you run for a Pokémon before! Even the shiny Larvitar wasn't as enticing as this one, huh?"

"The Larvitar last month didn't spend most of their time drenching me in water, and frankly I'm offended that this one thought he could get away with that."

"Oh, relax! I'm sure it's fine! He's just bein' a Squirtle, doin' what he does, you know."

"Meaning he's constantly soaking everyone within range."

"Well - " and another Squirtle drenched him as if on cue, "at least they're keeping everyone cool!"

"I'll admit to that." Blanche takes a seat on the bench and stretches out. "This has been a hell of a day."

"I hear ya there," Spark sits next to them. "Candela's been hunting like mad with all those pinap berries."

"I thought she had enough to evolve several of her Squirtle."

"Yeah, but she said she wanted to keep up with ya," he explains. "Somethin' along the lines of like, ‘oh, I want Blanche to be proud of me, they like evolution stuff!' She probably wants more strong Pokémon too, of course, but I think she's thinkin' more about you than anything."

They were focusing on counting up their candies until Spark said that. _She's thinking more about you than anything._

"...You got quite a bit of sun on your face, didn't ya?"

Blanche does feel hot now, with that comment from Candela. "Yes, I suppose." 

Spark leans a bit closer.  "You wanna head inside at some point? Maybe Candela will take you to that froyo place."

"You mean ‘us,' don't you?"

"Oh, Blanche," he pats their back. "That's not how a date works."

They shove Spark off the bench. He laughs nonetheless. 

"...501 candies is enough to fully evolve four Squirtle from scratch," they muse aloud. "I suppose I should do that now that there's less commotion."

"Yeah! You wanna see if they learn Hydro Canon, too," he adds. "You gotta keep up with Candela, after all - but I bet y'all can't keep up with me, can ya?"

"I'd push you on the ground if I hadn't already."

"I accept your sentiment." He's still laying on the ground. Typical.

The first one to evolve is the one with the best statistics, a high base CP and excellent IVs. Fully evolved, it's a Blastoise with the famous Hydro Canon, 2102CP. The small one continues to be particularly petit after evolution, interestingly enough, again knowing Hydro Canon. Blastoise this small are difficult to come by, so it'll be well worth looking into this one. The final one actually loses the heartiness to its move set, but it does have Hydro Canon as well. The rhyme and reason to move set changes over the course of evolution continues to baffle Blanche. It's definitely an area they need to study further. 

126 candies remain. That's just enough for their shiny Squirtle. 

A Squirtle zooms past and disappears into the underbrush. That's the only one Blanche has seen in the past ten minutes they've been appraising their new Blastoise. Seems like that's the end of - 

"Aw, damnit!"

Candela?

"What's the matter?" Spark asks from his seat on the ground. Candela rushes up, soaking wet, no doubt from the turtle that just escaped. 

"I was trying to get that guy. I'm only four candies short of evolving my best shiny!"

"Man, that's not fun," Spark frowns. "Sorry about that. If I actually had any candies left, I'd pass 'em off to ya."

"Eh, it's fine," though she sounds pretty disappointed. "I just thought having a shiny Blastoise for my team would be awesome, you know? I guess looks aren't everything, though."

It's not often Candela gets this down about something. "There may be a few left if you search around," Blanche offers. 

"I've _been_ searching, and that's the last guy I've seen in almost twenty minutes." She sighs again. "Well, I have others. I'm just mad 'cause I was so close..."

126 candies remain. That's more than enough. 

"Here."

Candela looks over at Blanche, who's holding four Squirtle candies out to her. Candela's eyes dart between their face to the contents of their hand. 

"You sure?"

"Weren't you gonna evolve your own shiny guy, Blanche?" Spark asks. Blanche merely shrugs. 

"I'll do it some other time."

"Even with the Hydro Canon thing?" Candela is hesitating to take them. 

"I'm sure."

She reaches halfway out. "...you really sure?"

"Take them before I change my mind."

Candela is beaming now, this bright, warm, genuine smile she has that always makes Blanche melt a little. "I'll pay you back for this somehow, I promise!"

Her hand lingers on Blanche's for almost a second longer than it should have. The sun is definitely getting to them. That's why they feel warm. 

"Let's see here... yes! Got it! Shiny Hydro Pump Blastoise is in the Valor house!" She sends the Blastoise out and just about leaps into it, hugging it tightly. "Welcome to Team Valor, buddy! What am I gonna nickname you, now? Torrent? Riptide?"

"Parple!" Spark shouts out. 

"Perhaps Blastoise is an appropriate enough name."

Candela glares a bit at both of them. "I like nicknaming my Pokémon Blanche, and I like giving them _good_ nicknames, Spark."

Spark frowns. "Fine. Gunback McGee."

"I can't even register a name that long!" 

"Typhoon?" Blanche offers. Candela's eyes actually light up at the suggestion. 

"Perfect! How's Typhoon sound to you?"

_"Blaaas!"_ The turtle gives a proud cry. 

"...I still think Gunback McGee is a good name."

Candela looks over at Blanche with a fondness that makes their heart skip a beat. "Really, I can't thank you enough. I know you were gonna evolve yours, but - "

"Don't worry about it," they cut her off a bit sheepishly. "As long as you're satisfied."

"Oh, I'm absolutely _delighted_. This has been a good day, huh?"

"It's certainly been a day," they half-agree. 

"I'm gonna go check in with my Valor kids, then we can get a bite to eat somewhere, okay? Where're you guys thinking?"

"I'm actually gonna grab something quick with some of my Instinct kids," Spark answers. "We were gonna go do some end of day egg runs after that."

Candela looks suspiciously at Spark. "You're not gonna go around taking my gyms again, are you?"

"Me? No! When would I have ever?"

Candela groans. "You're a piece of work. At least someone - " _wait why is her arm around me what do I do_ " - doesn't put a damn Magikarp in the gym I _rightfully_ earned!"

"Hey, floppy boy needs gym experience too!" Spark pouts. "He's a good boy, just wait 'til he's ready to be a Gyarados, then he's really gonna be a force to be reckoned with!"

"Oh, I'm sure. That doesn't mean I wanna deal with him in _my_ gym!"

"Yeah, yeah," he laughs. "You can handle it, though, you're Candela!"

She laughs a bit too, and she leans just a little onto Blanche. "Of course I can! That doesn't make it any less rude!" _Shit she's smiling at me -_ "I'll be right back, okay? How's sushi sound?"

"That sounds fine." _Wait, is this a date?_

"Don't go anywhere! I'll be back!" Candela is running off to check on her team, now. It's a wonder she can run in this heat. 

Spark nudges Blanche's leg, and they look down to see him holding four more Squirtle candies. 

"You... I thought you ran out of those."

"I did, as far as everyone else is concerned," he winks. "I think Candela really appreciated your help, though."

"She... seems very happy." They take the candies. Back to 126, just enough. 

"She's even taking you on a - " They kick him while he's still down, and again he just laughs. "You're really up in arms about this, aren't ya?"

"Just shut up." They send the candies off to their final Blastoise. Perfect. 

"Hey, just relax," Spark hums, pushing himself off the ground. "You're gonna be fine. Candela likes you a lot more than you know."

They might admit they're blushing, now. "What do you mean?"

"She tells me stuff sometimes." If this weren't Spark talking, that would almost be ominous. "Just trust your instincts, okay? It'll all work out in the end." 

They can't help smiling at him. "I appreciate your vote of confidence."

"But if you don't do something about this thing you two have soon, I'm gonna make it happen myself," he adds adamantly, and he's already running off before they can get another word in edgewise. "See ya!"

"So," Candela pops up behind Blanche, who all but jumps, "you ready for sushi?"

"Lead the way."

Blanche really would like to get into an air conditioned restaurant. Their face feels extra flushed with Candela's arm around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter features pining/slightly in denial Blanche, and the number one Candela/Blanche shipper 2018, Spark  
> this is partially based on my in-universe headcanons/some recent happenings in my own pokégo! i have actually taken an empty gym and put a Magikarp in just to be a nuisance to my sibling because sometimes that's just what siblings do


End file.
